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Nazi Germany A-level history essay plan
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reasons for hitlers rise to power and success
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“Hitler was the main reason why increasing number of Germans voted for the NSDAP in 1930 to 1932”assess the validity of this view
The years 1930-1932 was a monumental period where Germany went through fundamental change, socially,
economically, politically and culturaly. The Nazi party grew immensely during these years, leading them to
become in July 1932 the biggest party in the Reichstag with 37.3% of the vote. There are a multitude or
reasons that could be named as the defining factor in Nazi party growth such as the importance of Hitler,
their capturing ideology or the economic crisis that left millions poverty-stricken. In this essay I will weigh
up each factor and come to the conclusion that the economic crisis was the main factor in causing the
increase in Germans voting for the NSDAP.
One aspect that led to the increasing number of Germans voting for the Nazis was the appeal and character
of Adolf Hitler. Hitler himself was a great political speaker who could inspire people with enthusiasm. He
travelled extensively giving speeches and attending rallies all over Germany. He tailored his speeches in
accordance with his audience, using targeted slogans and enrapturing devices such as vocal repetition and
shouting to engage and rapture his audience. This enabled him to play on peoples hopes and fears. He was a
powerful orator and was well known for his enigmatic charisma. This enabled him to create the ‘Hitler
myth’ that was devolved post 1933. During the election campaigns he was portrayed as the strong leader that
Germany needed. Nazi propaganda showed him as a superman who could restore Germany’s fortunes,
Hitlers portrayal in propaganda was important as it widely appealed to the German people, helping them to
seize a wide electorate. This was further exemplified by his iron tight dominance over the SA which
illustrated the strength of his leadership to the electorate, this was far-reaching as many of the German
people dearly missed the strength of past autocratic leadership and had been disappointed by the seemingly
weak Weimar republic democracy, once again manipulating them into the vote. In 1929 Hitlers character
had established complete control of the NSDAP. This was the first step towards his ideal of the
Fuhrerprinzip. His personal popularity was shown in 1932 when he stood against Hindenburg in the
presidential elections and gained 13 million votes against Hindenburg’s 19 million, this was a massive
achievement as a party viewed by Hindenburg as ‘silly and insignificant’ had just illustrated how powerful
and threatening they were. Furthermore, Hitlers key party reorganisation during the lean years was crucial as
it created the ‘machine’of the party, more importantly, it meant that after the wall street crash the Nazis were
in a much stronger position to take over leadership that that of other extremist alternatives such as the KPD.
His book written during his time served in Landsberg castle prison, Mein Kamf was key in paving the way
for Nazi ideology in the 1930’s alongside the 25-point programme written in February 1920. This laid out
clear ideological beliefs that Germans could adhere and understand and showed them to be an organised and
coherent party, once again a counter to the Weimar government as their countless failed coalitions
manifested as an inability to compromise and work together, to tackle the economic downfall of Germany.
On the other hand, an influential part of Hitlers charismatic leadership was his speeches, however in the
early 1930s they were potentially not heard by the masses, as this was prior the Nazi radio scheme. This
means that in some ways the reason that the German electorate voted him in had nothing to do with Hitlers
powerful personality. In addition due to the violence of the SA frequently taking the form of street battles
between the red-front fighters league which led to an SA ban in April 1932, as Hitler was the figure head of
the stormtroopers this may have actually cost him votes rather than exemplified stability and strength.
Finally some people viewed him as an eccentrist without fully developed ideas, this can be proved by the
inequalities in his ideology, the disparities between the 25-point programme mild socialism views and
Hitlers Mein Kampfs harsh fascism.
Another aspect that led to the rise of the Nazis was economic crisis stemming in 1929 due to Germanys
dependence on American loans and following the wall street crash this caused a domino effect. Leaving all
social groups in hardship, it led to the collapse in export and import trade, business bankruptcy and lack of
income in all parts of Germany. The Weimar government appeared to be incapable of solving the economic
crisis while the Communists and Nazis put forward simple solutions. The Communists wanted to overthrow
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